Letters from March 29, 2000

The Artist, Formerly Known

I read with interest Moon Trent's letter to the S.F. Weekly (March 22) explaining the latest reason for the death of San Francisco's precious, precious music scene. When I was playing Sushi Sundays at Nightbreak and going to see Fungo Mungo at DNA, people were mourning the good old days when Mabuhay Gardens and The Stone were the place to be seen. When I played at Gillman Street, I had to endure people telling me how cool it was when you were actually allowed to slam. Lord knows that we will never be able to live up to some dork telling us, "I saw Janis at the Fillmore in the '60s." Doubtless, in Greenwich Village, there are people bragging about seeing Talking Heads at the CBGB or Naked City at the Knitting Factory. Where is the cool music scene? Art Alexakis moved to the Pacific Northwest and started Everclear. I suppose the people angry about the S.F. music scene consider him a sellout. I remember like it was yesterday, sitting in my manager's office talking about how we could get more press. We both laughed when we were told by one of the Chronicle/Examiner's critics that the only way he would do a story on the Cheeseballs was if he was going to make fun of us. I said go for it. My manager disagreed. The most press I ever remember was occasionally getting a small picture in the Weekly. (Thanks.) When I was talking to the journalist from the Wall Street Journal, she indicated that the fans might be to blame. Bear in mind, the people who shake their groove things at a Cheeseball or Tainted Love show are hardly looking for the new Primus, Faith No More, or Third Eye Blind. If it wasn't for cover shows at Slim's and Bimbo's, they would all be home watching Mad About You. We can't blame them. Should we blame musicians like myself who actually tempt these Bad Taste Techies? Don't get me started. By the way, does anyone think that DJs-as-rock-stars might have something to do with the dead live music scene? The bottom line (oh no, dot.com talk!) is that the people who are most critical of cover bands are taking it more seriously than the bands themselves. Blaming cover bands for the shitty music scene is like saying the theater scene sucks because of the Simpsons. Relax, have a drink and put on some dumb-ass clothes. Why do you think I called them The Cheeseballs in the first place? Perhaps we shouldn't blame anyone, and should stop marginalizing musicians. What differentiates music from sports is that we can enjoy both The Chemical Brothers and the Hanson brothers -- Sound Garden and Savage Garden. I wish Moon Trent the best of luck and would love to hear his music. I, too, am in a quiet-core band (MDS Trio) and would like to trade CDs. So give me a call, and we can talk about all of the great music there is out there. We'll skip all the parts about well, cheese. Jimmy Monack Artist Formerly Known As The Big Cheese Bernal Heights

Letters from March 22, 2000

Musical Incest

I just read your great article online about the Cheeseballs, Tainted Love, etc. ("Street Hassles," Riff Raff, March 15). I am glad you ran the Wall Street Journal bit. Yeah, most of us don't get that paper. We hardly can pay rent. Anyway, the scene sucks, and I blame it in part, however small, on the local media. I can hardly thumb through the local papers without seeing bands featuring one or two members who also work for the same paper(s). WE ALL KNOW who I mean (then I go see these bands and, like, 10 of their fellow staff members are there, the end). What is up with that? I also blame the local media for continuously focusing on cover bands in one way or another. Hell, I can think of 10 angles on Tainted Love alone right now myself. But "no-brainer journalism" is just that. I know most of the papers are free, but filler isn't filling anything besides the recycling bins. It's enough to make me skip them for a few months. I admit I am addicted to S.F. free papers. Also, when I say media, of course I mean radio also, and TV. I hope that some of this changes and more focus shifts to the little local bands like the one I'm in. We celebrate five years of playing out in clubs today! We played at the Edinburgh Castle March 15, 1995, as a quiet-core trio, and did The Howard Stern Show in October 1999, as you know. In between, we've been lucky enough to receive (we've been told) more than our fair share of ink, radio, and TV coverage, for which I am truly grateful, and give thanks often. But we are one of the few lucky exceptions. I refuse to have to move to get attention, when we've been here five years and established our small following/fans, plus I enjoy a domestic partner status with timmi-kat partner David Cole in this county. We celebrate our own anniversary next month. Nine years! I know that most of the bands that do leave (to N.Y. and L.A., etc.) will get swallowed up, and that's a shame. But hey, make more room for Third Eye Blind, and Brown-Star, and our friends. It can only excite everyone, the bands themselves, their small fan bases, and inspire everyone to greatness and a higher level of excellence. IT COULD HAPPEN PEOPLE. Well, it could also at least make the mags more interesting and varied. Moon Trent Via Internet